A standard type of fire hose, when under pressure, is extremely difficult to handle. In use, such hoses are slippery and heavy and do not readily provide an adequate grip to oppose the backward force exerted by the flowing water or to allow moving of the hose. The large circumferences of fire hoses in relation to the human hand contribute further to the difficulty in gripping fire hoses when in use.
Carrying and moving a fire hose to reposition it during use can be a tiring and frustrating experience. Even holding and controlling the hose is difficult; when operating at water pressures of 50-100 pounds, a fire hose may require three men to resist the force generated on the hose by the water pressure. As a result, the nozzleman must use a great deal of energy in the process of adequate hose control.
The need for a solution to this long-standing problem has led to many product development efforts. Some of the many prior hose carrier inventions are those disclosed in the following U.S. Pat. Nos.
4,470,177 (Ganung et al.) PA1 596,689 (Aungest) PA1 633,899 (Peacock) PA1 448,458 (Saunders).
The hose carriers of the prior art have a number of problems and disadvantages which have prevented the wide adoption of hose-attachable hose carrier devices to aid in carrying and moving hose. Some of these disadvantages are due to the fact that the prior art hose carrier devices are made of hard clamps fitted around the hose and/or have one or more hard handles for gripping. Because of the rigid nature of the hard clamps, it may not always be possible to easily maintain a secure hold of the hose. It may also be difficult to attach the devices or adapt the clamps to varying hose diameters.
Hard clamps are also clumsy to carry around for use when necessary. And, they add weight to an already heavy load thereby making the weight the fireman must carry even greater. The clamps of the prior art may also cause the hose to get caught when pulling the hose through debris, around corners, or the like. A hard clamp may also create a hazard if control of the hose is lost and the clamp is allowed to freely swing about with the hose.
There is a clear need for an improved fire hose carrier which can be widely accepted and used in firefighting.